Lord of the Rings: The Logical Journey (The fellowship of the Ring)
by Slackin Snarlos
Summary: The journey will take a very different path and the outcome...well, some times the means will have to justify the ends...so what is the cost?
1. Chapter 1

...Frodo was dreaming of the next Shire festival and some of the best quality Shire beer served down at the inn. He had been told that this year the landlord had acquired some exceptional beers made from dragon roasted hops stored in barrels made from Elven-oak tree teased by Orc's. Apparently when the barrels were in close proximity to Orc's the barrel reacted by releasing protective magic, a very sweet scent that infused itself in to the beer: when you drank it you would get a magic rush of inner piece. In the wild this magic scent would put Orc's to sleep if they came to close to oak tree and... Knock knock...knock knock...Frodo got distracted in his daydreaming.. Why is it that Hobbits always show up on my doorstep when I dream of pleasurable things he thought to himself? Have they no sense of appropriateness at all?

...Frodo opens the door and look out expecting to see a hobbit and likely a hobbit with the family name "Ramsbottom" because they often came around and asked for a lend of tobacco, and had never any intention of giving it back, but when Frodo opened the door and looked at a the height of the general length of a hobbit Frodo only saw a wall of grey robe felt ...it took him a few seconds to adjust his thinking and screamed **"GANDALF"** ,then launched himself forward and gave Gandalf's robe and leg a hug.

...The old wizard looked down with amusement as he slowly puffed away on his long white pipe as Frodo was almost breaking his neck trying to look straight up to get eye contact with Gandalf as he hugged his leg covered in robe-felt. Frodo let go but could not hide his excitement and was dancing around the old wizard with his big hobbit feet tapping away. Gandalf said" I take it my arrival is a welcomed sight?!." But Frodo was too happy to answer Gandalf and still the little hobbit was jumping around of excitement. Gandalf said "well, I let myself in shall I?" and then bowed down,leaned forward as he entered the small dwelling of hobbits.

...That night Gandalf and Frodo sat up all night and talked about history and the Shire, just enjoying each other's company. Gandalf told Frodo stories and facts of hobbit history long forgotten and the hobbit wars in days when hardship and greed ruled hobbits, and how the Shire over time came to be the lovely place it was today. Gandalf eventually yawned and might even have been tired of his own voice and so decided to go to bed. His horse and carriage was parked outside and Gandalf preferred to sleep in the carriage because the old wizard knew hobbit beds were way to small for comfort. Gandalf Stood up and said "Tomorrow we have much to discuss and many important decisions to make, Frodo!". Gandalf's face looked troubled and he reached for his pipe on the table and headed for the door "Good night Frodo" said Gandalf...No Reply came from Frodo as he had passed out from all the home made blackberry wine he had saved for special occasions and was now asleep over the wooden kitchen table. The door closed and the little hobbit was dreaming of the next Shire festival and drinking Elven beer together with his friends.

...Outside the house the voice of the old wizard could just about be heard from behind his carriage. He was not singing and he was not having a drunken monologue...he was having a conversation... and the only words that could be heard were...Thank ...death...fly...no time...tell...


	2. Behind the Carrige: Creatures Bright and

Behind the Carriage: Creatures bright and big

...behind the carriage, the only visible traces of Gandalf was only the old wizards' hat poking out from behind the carriage and the string of smoke rose towards the clear sky from Gandalf's pipe. He smoked too much but nobody yet knew how damaging tobacco really was in them days and there was no research to say whether smoking had any damaging effect on wizards at all anyway. Maybe wizards just cast a cleansing spell and they rejuvenate over nigh or maybe wizards are a bit like the phoenix bird and will rise out of the ashes...nobody really knows the lifecycle of wizards.

...It was no doubt that Gandalf was talking to someone but for us readers of this strange Saga it's too dark for us to see from where we are standing. The conversation ended with a ball of lightning appearing in the dark area behind the carriage. The light was spherical in shape and had a bright warm glow of white silver. The object suddenly moved straight in to the forest behind Frodo's house. It made no noise, but as the sphere shot through the forest the mystery object broke twigs, bushes and trees with great force and moved like the trees did not exist in its path at all. Gandalf casually walked around the carriage and to the front of Frodo's house and sat down on a small stonewall where he could overlook the Shire and the entire hobbit village. Gandalf let out a big sigh and wondered for how long this little idyllic village of hobbits would remain untouched by time. Gandalf closed his eyes and the old wizard rubbed his hands together and mumbled what sounded like a spell. When his hands parted a soft blue dust raised up in to the air and Gandalf said "watch us tonight my little friends'" and the dust became thinner as it spread out in the areas immediate surrounding the house where Frodo lived. Gandalf's eyes were still shut and maybe he was sleeping but smoke still blew out of the corner of his mouth so maybe he didn't sleep after all. No one really knows if wizard ever sleep.

...Not too far away at the other side of the village sat a rather large creature, vile and grotesque with a soul as dark as the deepest caves of the underworld and with a heart of black ice. The creature was watching Gandalf with great interest. He was wondering what the blue aura surrounding the house really was and how strong the wizard could be. Oh, he had killed wizards before but they were younger, their minds weaker...oh, their flesh so tasty. He had a sense that this wizard struggled internally and the wizard desired the ring, but his heart was clean, his mind strong and clear of the consequent of possessing a ring with so much power. The creature was descendant of the riders but driven not by the ring that rules them all, but rather it feed on creatures that desired the ring and would steal their life force and last eat their flesh when the soul was gone.

...The creature was annoyed because the wizard did not wear the ring and the little creature in the house who was the ring bearer did not desire the ring so it left the creature nothing to feed on...yet... The little hobbit was too simple minded to quickly become affected by the destructive powers of the ring...Pathetic creatures them hobbits..."wonder if they taste good" it whispered to itself... The creature slid off the rock it sat on and moved towards the village quicker than one would expect for its size, jumping in to shadowy pockets in its selected path...Flesh...I need fleessh... to soothe my cravings...I need souls in pain...I need beautiful screams in fear of death to send me to sleep when daylight comes...who to eat, who to drink, who to drain...who can I drag back to my dark quarters to satisfy my dark desires...I neeeed...I neeeed...


	3. Gandalfs here, there, everywhereso sad

...The fact was that Gandalf slept with his pipe firmly stuck in his mouth; puffing away like a chimney fire out of control. He had been smoking for over two hundred years so he did not need to be awake for such a trivial task. He was dreaming but not dreams like mortals, it was more of a journey through time and space where he visited different realities or parallel world if you so wish. All of these worlds were very similar to their own but all with slight differences. Gandalf often jumped between these paralleled realities as a mean of see the effect of his potential choices in their world before he made a choice in his own world. He did not interfere with other timelines and other Gandalfs' decisions and he had countless times seen his own death play out right before his eyes. This time his dream journey would not be about him but of Frodo Baggins...Gandalf was troubled and sad...He had visited over 20 worlds and seen about 15 different choices made and they all ended in 3 different outcomes for Frodo or his friends on their journey to destroy the ring...None of them good...

...All Gandalf could see were war, death and evil stubbornly prevailing. The choice to do nothing was the worst...all good would die. The choice to strike a deal with evil in exchange for the ring ended in the deal not worth the spell that bound the contract it was written on. If Gandalf himself attempted to deliver the ring to its destruction the world would suffer the greatest of evils...it would suffer...Gandalf the evil...and Frodo and everyone he knew would die...by him... If he sent the elves with the ring they would fail and the Orc's would proudly carry the ring high to Moordor whilst eating raw Elven meat for a week, celebrating the end of Elven civilisation. Gandalf had found only one way that provided a future for all good to survive. Survive was the keyword... not to flourish...Even if evil was defeated it would still exist in dark corners and deep caves where Man could not survive and make its advances under the moonlight...forever...The battle between good and evil was as old as universe and the battle would continue long after this world was gone... on another parallel world...

...Gandalf did not want this for the little hobbit...No one as innocent as Frodo should have to carry such a burden and should not have to make such a sacrifice...once innocence is lost it will forever be... dead...Dwarfs, Elf's, Trolls, Ents and other magical creatures could not carry this burden...and Man...well, such race was just too weak..So, it all came down to a little drunken hobbit named Frodo. Gandalf was heartbroken knowing this reality...Now the trouble was to keep Frodo alive for the journey. It was no longer secret who was the ring bearer and that meant the little rabbit Frodo was now Game in a hunt where wolfs were afraid of dragons and demons and it was time for the rabbit to run quickly...Run Frodo...run.


	4. Frodo's Hangover and strange visitors

"Frodo"..."Frodo"..."Frodo"...Gandalf shook Frodo's shoulder; he was still asleep over the dining table..."Frodo"!...

...Gandalf found that after a few hundred years he had become somewhat impatient of dealing with the children of this world. "They are just like teenagers; Impulsive, no forward plan, thinking they know everything...so eager and novice, ignorant and brave (or stupid)". In his mind Gandalf made the analogy of them being like wild suicidal hamsters on their annual journey, throwing themselves of a rock (not thinking what's beneath, in their blind eagerness to explore the unknown and to find a mate... "Frodo...Sleeping is not going to get anything done, so wake up Frodo!".

"FRODO",

...Gandalf's voice was booming and Frodo suddenly opened his eyes.. His first visual impression was the back of the gallon container still containing a little blackberry wine from last night. Fordo still had his head sideways on the table facing the door. The gallon container was 2 inches away from face...Frodo was trying to speak but his vocal cords were dry as the old riverbeds long past and gone. His tongue was swollen and his mouth tasted like someone had taken it to the local graveyard for a late night snack. "I need water" he was trying to say, but Frodo's attempt only became a thought to himself destined to never be heard. "I see you finally decided to wake up, Mr. Baggins" Gandalf said with hints of sarcasm and impatience in his voice. The old wizard took the wine away out of Frodo's vision and replaced it with a mug of water. Frodo had still not lifted his head off the table but now he had the motivation...water, sweet water..."Never again"..."Never again will I drink alcohol" Frodo thought to himself.

...Outside the round dining room window the sun was shining and one could clearly see the hills and fields were full of green grass and fields of yellow wheat grass was dancing in the summer breeze. It was all very idyllic at a glance, but shadows were cast upon them fields...and they were the shadows of dragons hovering high in the sky looking down at the little hobbit village...upon their backs sat the dark dragon riders... Gandalf could feel their presence, and was looking out of every window to see if he could see them. Eventually, when he looked out of the kitchen window he could see the dragons and the riders hanging in the sky...he could hear their voices in his head..."There is no hope, there is no future for the likes you...a new world is coming"..."Give us the ring and we will be free"..."give us the ring and you will not suffer". The shadows stood still for a minute and then moved away. Gandalf knew he was the light and they were the darkness, he also knew he could fight off the dragon riders...but for how long? "the riders must have had their reasons for not attacking" he thought to himself. Gandalf did not tell the little hobbit who was still struggling to get off the kitchen table about the dragon riders. Frodo drank his water, trying to recapture the fleeting moments of last nights conversations...something...something about a journey..."I really need to cut down on the drinking".

...The mere presence of dragon riders meant that decisions regarding Frodo's journey was desperately imminent..."If the fellowship of the ring did not turn up tonight, the alternative journey had to begin" Gandalf thought...his mind was racing...but the alternative journey would cost this world dearly...the journey to destroy the ring had to take place at all cost. Gandalf stood there looking at the fields of wheat...in his mind the wheat fields were in flames...dead hobbits as far as his vision could see...Gandalf was afraid. "May the God's forgive us" he said out loud.


	5. The logical destruction of the ring

The Fellowship of the ring never arrived and Gandalf sent word to set plan B in action. Later that day an eagle landed behind Frodos house. Gandalf Placed Frodo on the back of the eagle and said "Frodo you have to fly to Mordor and destroy the ring". It is better for you to fly there since the roads are full of danger and lots of creatures would try to kill you; and it seems stupid to make you walk there when I'm friends with the eagles . When you reach Mordor the eagle will drop you by the hot melting lava and all you have to do is to drop the ring in to it and then fly home. Seconds later Frodo was up in the air looking down on the small houses. The eagle flew so high that nobody saw them. Far below them Frodo could see the dragons circling the village. The eagle was fast and Frodo past the river and mountains marking the end of Shire territory. A little later he saw big forests and big Orc army's marching fast to some unknown destination. On the ground sat a little creaturecalled Smegol and he was wondering why suddenly he could feel the presence of his precious yet he could see no one around apart from a stupid bird high up in the air. The eagle was flying so fast that Frodo thought he would be back for dinner time. He felt a little cold but found he could slide in under the eagle feathers and there it was nice and warm. Far below him he could see the big tower with the eye searching the land for him but they were to high up to be detected. Frodo thought on have to be stupid to walk all this way to get to this place. The eagle looked at Frodo and made a little squeek and Frodo could swear he heard a voice in his head saying "hold on to my feathers, it will be a fast and sharp dive". The eagle was soaring towards the ground like a bombdiver and just before it would crash it turned and flew only inches above the ground and straight through the doors leading in to the lava chamber. Once in, the eagle circled above the lava and Frodo got the ring out of his pocket and threw it in the lava. As soon as the ring melted the eagle flew out of the lava chamber and up up up they went. The mountain exploded behind them and with it the high tower with the eye. Frodo felt free and in the horizon he could see the Shire getting closer. He got a warm feeling in his heart and thought he would finally have the courage to ask Pippin to marry him. When he landed Gandalf looked very surprised and said "you are alive?". The end?


End file.
